Hockey Ireland are delighted to announce the location for the Women’s Olympic Qualifier this November. Adding another level of excitement to the event, the Women’s matches will take place on the 2nd and 3rd of November in Energia Park in Donnybrook.

Speaking on the announcement, CEO of Hockey Ireland, Jerome Pels said, “We’re excited to announce Energia Park in Donnybrook as the venue for the Women’s Olympic Qualifier matches against Canada this November. This is a huge step for the sport in Ireland to play hockey in a venue of this size.

“A lot of time and research has been dedicated to establishing whether the event could take place here. Similar to England Hockey’s successful use of an overlay carpet for their FIH Pro League matches at The Stoop in London earlier this year, we’re excited to bring this unique experience to Ireland.

“We’d like to thank Leinster Rugby for accommodating us in Energia Park and look forward to bringing this event to fruition.”

The Head of Commercial with Leinster Rugby, Kevin Quinn said,“This is another hugely positive step for us in Leinster Rugby to showcase our ability to offer a facility like Energia Park to other governing bodies and organisations.

“To be able to host international sporting occasions in any code and at any level is something we take huge pride in and I know our two partners in Energia Park, Old Wesley and Bective Rangers, feel the same way.

“Hockey Ireland and ourselves share offices on the same campus up in UCD and it is brilliant that we can now share a home stadium together for these two games and we can’t wait to host them, and to fill out Energia Park, in November.”

A launch event is scheduled to take place early next week, where further information will be provided.

THREE-TIME Olympian and world-renowned ‘Clean Sport’ advocate Beckie Scott said she was ‘hugely encouraged and inspired’ by her recent visit to Ireland.

The former Olympic cross-country champion, who is Chair of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Athlete Committee, was here as a guest of the Olympic Federation of Ireland’s Athletes’ Commission at an event last April.
She not only met with athletes but also gave a powerful speech to officials from a wide range of Irish governing bodies at the launch of Sport Ireland’s annual Anti-Doping Report.

Canadian Scott won cross-country bronze at the 2002 Winter Olympics but, even as she was travelling to the medal ceremony, heard that the two athletes ahead of her had failed drugs tests.

“Over a period of two years, when my bronze was upgraded to silver, and then gold, I decided I was not going to be part of the problem anymore but the solution,” she said, explaining why she feels athletes themselves have a growing role in the Clean Sport movement.

“Sport possesses the power to transcend barriers and transform lives. It brings people together and tells unbelievable stories of the human spirit.

“As athletes we know how precious that is and, more than any other stakeholders, also understand how vulnerable it is,” she added.

Scott works full-time, as a Director/CEO for a sport for social development organisation (with indigenous communities) in Canda so her advocacy with WADA is purely voluntary.

She actually stood down as chair of its Compliance Review Committee late last year, to protest at its reinstatement of Russia’s Anti-Doping Authority.

Yet she remains chair of WADA’s Athletes’ Commission because she believes passionately in change from within.

“Yes, credibility has been lost and confidence has been shaken. But that’s all the more reason to stay there. So many athletes are dependent on us as their voice within the organisation. That’s why I didn’t quit,” she said.

She believes there is “a sea-change internationally” in the power of athletes’ voices, citing Germany where they successfully campaigned for policy change on one IOC marketing rule recently.

“I think there was lip service for a long time, where athletes’ commissions were still under the umbrella of their organisations and were not allowed to confront or challenge,” Scott noted.

“But that is changing and I found Team Ireland and Sport Ireland to have a very good relationship with their Athletes’ Commission which is very encouraging and inspiring,” she added.

The chairperson of OFI’s Athletes’ Commission, Shane O’Connor, stressed that it has been “given free rein to establish what athletes feel and want to suggest in order to keep our sports clean.

“We want to hear Irish athletes’ problems but also their suggestions for solutions,” he stressed. “We want to be proactive and lead the Clean Sport movement.

“Our strap-line is ‘Athlete designed, Athlete driven, Athlete solutions. That not only means educating clean athletes but educating people on how doping impacts clean athletes.”

Recently returned from the IOC’s biennial Athletes’ Commissions’ Forum in Lausanne, O’Connor observed: “Ireland is way ahead in terms of some of the athlete commissions I spoke to. We have an (OFI) executive who have not only supported us but given us automony.

“They’ve said ‘if you think there’s an issue, stand on it. Tell us you’re going to do it and, even if we don’t fully agree with you because we have a different perspective, we are happy for you to raise it’. That is very empowering for us.”

The Athletes’ Commission is hosting a very important workshop on the 16 September, where we are looking for feedback from athletes regarding several items relating to athlete welfare. The workshop will be the basis of a piece of research conducted by Brian MacNiece and will be used as a way of allowing the athlete’s voice be heard in areas that are important to them.

Last April at an event we announced that we would be conducting this research when we co-hosted an event on Clean Sport with Sport Ireland, and invited WADA Athlete Commission Chairperson Beckie Scott to come and talk about her experience in sport, when she was awarded her Olympic Gold Medal two years later – READ HER FULL STORY HERE.

We are calling on Irish athletes to take part in a workshop where they can discuss the doping system in their sports, and we also want to take the opportunity to ask athletes to express their views on what can be done in sport to address their most pressing athlete welfare concerns.

We are looking for athletes who are competing at an international level in their sport to attend.

The athlete should have an interest in contributing to research which will examine various topics with a view to capturing the athlete voice and executing change in sport where required.

The athlete will be interested in being offering solutions to issues that impact athletes such as doping and athlete welfare.

The athlete needs to be available to attend the workshop on September 16.

WHAT SUBJECTS WILL BE EXPLORED:

Anti-Doping in Ireland: One of the items that will be examined will be the area of anti-doping. Athletes will be invited to assess the doping system in Ireland, and internationally, and to give their feedback on how this area can be improved in Ireland.

Athlete Welfare: Athletes will be asked to feed in suggestions on what measures can be put in place to assist athletes who are competing at the elite level.

General Feedback: There will be opportunities for feedback on all areas that impact the athlete in their sport, and suggestions from them on what can be put in place to improve these areas for them.

Twenty-two-year-old Cathal Daniels from Co Galway and the Irish Sport Horse mare Rioghan Rua (ISH) have produced a magnificent performance at the Longines FEI Eventing European Championships at Luhmühlen in Germany, to claim the individual bronze medal to add to the World Championship team silver medal they won last year.

Daniels had been lying in 13th place after Friday’s Dressage after he scored an impressive 29.0. A fantastic clear Cross Country round on Saturday well inside the time, saw Daniels and the Margaret Kinsella-owned 12-year-old mare rise to sixth place heading into the final day and crucially were less than a fence off the medal places. Another perfect clear in the final Show Jumping phase saw Daniels put pressure on those above him. As fences began to fall, Daniels rose to third place at the finish to take home the second championship medal of his career.

“It’s an amazing feeling!” Cathal Daniels said. “I’ve gone through Juniors, Young Riders and now Seniors with this mare. Unfortunately, the team didn’t get as strong a result as they wanted, but I was glad I was able to get a medal and keep spirits high and build again for next year on the road to Tokyo.”

Germany’s Ingrid Klimke riding SAP Hale Bob defended her European title to claim the gold medal with a score of 22.2, while her German team mate Michael Jung collected the silver with FischerChipmunk FRH on 24.9.

Cathal Daniels’ bronze medal is the first Irish Senior European Eventing medal win since 1995 when Lucy Thompson claimed gold with Welton Romance at Pratoni del Vivaro in Italy where Ireland also won team bronze.

The European Championships are also an Olympic qualifier however Ireland have already qualified for Tokyo following their silver medal win at last years World Championships.

A delighted Irish Eventing team manager Sally Corscadden said:

“It is absolutely outstanding for a boy of his age [Cathal Daniels (22)] to finish in this company with Ingrid Klimke and Michael Jung on the podium. Cathal has worked very hard to improve his Dressage with this mare and that enabled him to pull off this result. It is very exciting with Tokyo just around the corner. We planned for this from a long way off and it really stood to Cathal that he competed here in Luhmühlen last year and this result has really put him on the world stage

“It was a great effort from the team overall. It was unfortunate that Ciaran was forced to pull out before the final phase and this along with the 20 penalties Sam picked up that put us out of contention for a medal, but that’s the way it goes.. We were really going for it and I am happy that once again we were very competitive and we will have learned a lot from another Championships. I want to thank all our trainers and backroom team and most especially all our horses’ owners for their support,” Corscadden said.

Horse Sport Ireland CEO Ronan Murphy added:
“This was a superb performance from Cathal Daniels to win an individual bronze medal and from all our squad who were very competitive this week. This the perfect build up for the Tokyo Olympics next year and I want to thank our Eventing Team Manager Sally Corscadden, all of the High Performance coaches, support team, riders, owners and the team at Horse Sport Ireland.”

The Olympic Federation of Ireland is delighted to announce the Tokyo 2020 Team Ireland Performance Support Leads, who will play an integral role in supporting the athletes during the Olympic Games. The Sport and Science leads will be operating under the direction of the Chef de Mission, Tricia Heberle, and the Olympic Games Head of Performance Support, Phil Moore, and will deliver and integrated performance support system to Irish athletes and staff to enable them to perform to their full potential at next year’s Games.

The nomination of the Sport and Science leads is being announced on the back of a rigorous and competitive selection process, and there will be a dual focus on the pre-games training camp environment and on the Games themselves.

Tokyo 2020 Lead Support Role

Name

Organisation

Strength & Conditioning / Holding Camp Deputy Manager

Eamonn Flanagan

SII

Performance Nutrition / Holding Camp Deputy Manager

Dr Sharon Madigan

SII

Performance Physiology

Declan Gamble

SINI

Olympic Transition Support

Eoin Rheinisch

SII

Performance Psychology

Dr Kate Kirby

SII

Sports Medicine (Chief Medical Officer)

Dr Jim O’Donovan

SII

Sports Physiotherapy

Sarah Jane McDonnell

SII

The Performance Support Leads will work as part of a multi-disciplinary Science and Medicine leadership team. Their focus will be on supporting the wellbeing of the athletes and staff before, during and after the Games.

Irish hockey player Lena Tice in a VO2 max test.

“I am very excited about the calibre and experience of our Team Ireland Performance Support leads,” Chef de Mission Heberle said, “Tokyo 2020, like every Olympic Games, will present challenges and a range of considerations that we need to embrace and effectively prepare for. The support and expertise of these highly experienced practitioners and leaders in their fields will be invaluable to myself, our athletes and staff across Olympic qualification and at the Games.

“Many of our leads are already working with sports that will qualify for the Games and so our aim is to ensure a balance of continuity of support while also providing leadership and direction to a network of practitioners at the Sport Ireland and Sport NI Institutes, and in National Federations.”

Head of Performance Support Phil Moore added, “The appointment of the Performance Support Leads for the Tokyo Olympics is a significant milestone in the development of a world class high performance system in Ireland. The robust and transparent recruitment process ensures continuity of support for our athletes through the full Olympic cycle, delivered by a highly experienced team of science and medical practitioners working closely with Performance Directors and coaches.

“I look forward to working with this team and with the Team Ireland Chef de Mission Tricia Heberle to support our athletes and coaches in the preparation for Tokyo 2020.”

The Olympic Games take place in Tokyo from the 24 July to the 9 August 2020. Irish athletes are currently in the qualification stages across their sports.

It was an incredible week for the Irish Rowing Squad at the World Rowing Championships, where athletes won a total of four medals, including two world titles, and on the way met Tokyo qualification status in four boats.

Sanita Puspure represented Ireland in the W1x A Final. Sanita rowed against countries New Zealand, USA, Great Britain, Switzerland and Canada. Throughout the race, Sanita competed against New Zealand’s Emma Twigg for the top position. In the end, Sanita managed to get the better of the New Zealand rower finishing just over 3 seconds ahead to retain the Gold Medal. This is Sanitas second World Rowing Championship Gold Medal after winning the Medal in 2018.

Paul O’Donovan and Fintan McCarthy won the Gold Medal in the Lightweight Men’s Double. The Irish crew already qualified the boat for the Olympics on Thursday and took home the Gold Medal beating crews from Italy and Germany. This is Paul’s fourth consecutive World Championship Gold Medal having won in 2016 & 2017 in the Lightweight Men’s Single and 2018 in the Double with Gary O’Donovan. Paul and Fintan finished with a time of 06:35.280.

Philip Doyle and Ronan Byrne competed in the M2x A Final alongside countries such as China, Poland, Great Britain, Switzerland and Romania. Philip and Doyle showed great determination going from the fourth position to second place in the space of a few strokes. The duo just began to contend for top position when they were just beaten to the line by China. The M2x crew take home the highly coveted Silver Medal.

The Women’s Pair of Monika Dukarska and Aileen Crowley finished second in their B Final and qualified the Irish W2- boat for the Toyko Olympics. Monika and Aileen took the lead early on, the competing crews were close together throughout the race. The Romanian crew took first with Ireland finishing just over a second behind them. Boats from China, Great Britain, Greece and Chile finished behind the Irish pair. Monika and Aileen’s final time was 07:20.680.

Katie O’Brien won the Bronze Medal in the PR2 W1x Final today. Katie raced against crews from Australia, Netherlands, USA and Latvia. Katie held the third position early on in the race and was battling with the crew from the Netherlands throughout. There were two former Olympians in this race and Katie raced brilliantly against them to secure a Bronze Medal. Katie finished the race with a time of 10:01.640.

On top of four medals, four Irish boats qualified are the Women’s Single (W1x), Women’s Pair (W2-), Men’s Double (M2x), and the Lightweight Men’s Double. This is the highest number of Irish boats qualified for the Olympic games.

The Irish Women’s Hockey squad was unveiled early this morning for the Euro Hockey Championships which will get underway later this week in Antwerp.

After a strong training block together and several international training matches, the following squad has been selected:

Name

1

Ayeisha McFerran

2

Roisin Upton

3

Nicola Evans

4

Katie Mullan (C)

5

Shirley McCay

6

Elena Tice

7

Gillian Pinder

8

Bethany Barr

9

Chloe Watkins

10

Elizabeth Colvin

11

Nicola Daly

12

Hannah Matthews

13

Elizabeth Murphy

14

Sarah Hawkshaw

15

Anna O’Flanagan (VC)

16

Zoe Wilson

17

Deirdre Duke

18

Alison Meeke

Speaking on the squad selection Head Coach, Sean Dancer, said, “We have had a good preparation period leading into this competition, with the opportunity to push and develop our squad with a number of International games.

Our selection has plenty of experience and we will be expecting them to stand up when it counts and make the most of our opportunities.

The Euro Hockey Championship is an excellent competition with Olympic qualification for the winner, this is a great challenge that our group is looking forward to.”

Vital World Ranking points are at stake for all teams in this tournament as the Olympic Qualification process heats up. The Green Army will take on England, Germany and Belarus in Pool B of the Championship with their opening match against England taking place on Sunday 18th of August at 11:15 local time.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, two Irish crews were competing in the World Rowing Junior Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

The Junior Women’s Double Scull Crew of Molly Curry and Rhiannon O’Donoghue finished 5th in the A Final. The Irish crew are now ranked 5th in the World and represented Ireland proudly throughout the week in a hard week of racing. On Wednesday they competed in their Heat and finished 2nd to the Netherlands crew of Jacobien Van Westreenen and Lisa Bruijnincx, who would ultimately go on and win the A Final. The Irish JM2x boat won their following Repechage and would finish 3rd in their A/B Semi-Final and qualified for the A Final.

Ireland’s Junior Men’s Coxed Four (JM4+), of James O’Donovan, Matthew Gallagher Jack Dorney John Kearney and Leah O’Regan finished 4th in the JM4+ A Final on Sunday. The Irish boat finished 2nd in their Heat on Thursday and qualified directly to the A Final. The Irish Crew raced valiantly in the A Final and just missed out on a medal with a couple of seconds separating 1st to 4th. The Irish Crew are now ranked 4th in the World after winning Silver in the European Rowing Junior Championships earlier in the year.

Rowing Ireland’s High-Performance Director, Antonio Maurogiovanni said, “This year as part of the strategy the crews selected improved the level of quality of results as the results have shown.

We had the two Junior crews selected around May/June and they trained at the Kinetica National Rowing Centre for their Pre-World Championships preparation. The atmosphere and the enthusiasm around the group was great. Throughout their training at the NRC, we had the U23 and Senior team training side by side and this created a fantastic positive training environment which was beneficial for all the crews.

The results have shown how tough is to win the medal after the A final was achieved. Last year coaches and athletes learnt a lot and this year the two finals have proven that the direction engaged by the High-Performance program is taking the Irish Rowing towards a positive evolution for the best interest of our rowers.

This has been a great and positive experience and a huge learning opportunity for the future for the competing Junior Rowers. We still have a lot to improve and I have a strong belief that we can place crews in the medal area soon.

The JM4+ has raced the final with an outstanding level of courage going for the Gold Medal. They lost the Bronze Medal for 1.1sec making all of us proud and full of hope for the near future.

The JW2x with one of them still a junior rower next year had an outstanding week, they raced 3 times during the week and reached the A Final. Their 5th place is well deserved and this is a stepping stone for future successes.

The athletes want to train better and harder as they did since they were selected and they are highly motivated to continue their journey. I strongly believe that their domestic coaches will be very supportive and willing to help them when back at home and they will be ready to start the new season in the best interest of the rowers.

I wish to send a big thanks to all the club’s managers and coaches for their support in helping their athletes during these months. Big thank you to the parents and family of these athletes. Without their enthusiasm and support, it wouldn’t be possible to have these crews competing at the World Rowing Junior Championships in Tokyo.

An enormous well done to Fran Keane and John Armstrong, both are passionate and dedicated coaches and were both critical to the success in Tokyo, thanks to the Rowing Ireland Board, HP Committee and CEO Michelle Carpenter for their encouragement and support.

A big challenge is still in front of us and the athletes are ready to give it their all, let’s help them.”

Irish Eventing team manager Sally Corscadden has announced that Tony Kennedy and The Irish Sport Horse Westeria Lane have been added to the Irish Eventing squad for the upcoming 2019 European Eventing Championships which take place in Luhmühlen (GER) from August 29th to September 1st. The news comes after it was confirmed that Clare Abbott will miss the championships after her horse Europrince picked up an injury.

Sally Corscadden (pictured) is confident that Kennedy will take this opportunity with both hands:

“Stepping up to join the squad will be U25 rider Tony Kennedy and his experienced horse Wisteria Lane. We are very fortunate to have a combination that have already successfully completed Luhmühlen this year finishing a very credible 14th. Tony was a member of the bronze medal winning Young Rider (U21) team at the Strzegom Europeans in 2015 alongside teammate Cathal Daniels. This is a great opportunity for Tony to debut on a senior team,” she said.

The updated Irish squad for the 2019 European Eventing Championships in Luhmuhlen is:

The Senior Irish Men’s Hockey squad was unveiled this morning for both their upcoming Euro Hockey Championships campaign in Antwerp this August, as well as their Four Nations tournament in Spain at the end of this month.

Vital World Ranking points are at stake for all teams in this tournament as the Olympic Qualification process heats up. The Green Machine will take on the Netherlands, Germany and Scotland in Pool B, with their opening match against the Netherlands taking place on Saturday 17th of August at 15:45 local time.

The squad selected is as follows:

Name

1

James Carr.

2

Mark Ingram.

3

Jonathan Bell.

4

Lee Cole.

5

John Jackson.

6

Stuart Loughrey.

7

Paul Gleghorne.

8

Conor Harte.

9

Tim Cross.

10

Daragh Walsh.

11

Shane O’Donoghue.

12

Stephen Cole.

13

Kirk Shimmins.

14

Michael Robson.

15

Ben Walker.

16

Jeremy Duncan.

17

Eugene Magee.

18

Sean Murray.

Reserve

Matthew Nelson.

Reserve

Matthew Bell.

Speaking on the squad selection Head Coach, Alexander Cox, said, “I’m happy to announce the team that will contest the Euro Hockey Championships for Ireland. There are some different names in the squad in comparison to our FIH Series Finals earlier this summer. I’m content that this squad is, at this moment, our best squad and I expect we will do well in the coming weeks; however, there are still some decisions to be made around our goalkeepers for Europeans. The upcoming Four Nations tournament will be a good opportunity to prepare ourselves in the best possible way for European Championships.”

The Men will head to Spain ahead of the Euro-Hockey Championships campaign for a Four Nation tournament, taking on Spain, England and Malaysia.

Volleyball Ireland were one of the member federations who were successful in securing funding from the Discretionary Funding pot the Olympic Federation of Ireland announced recently.

They put the funds to great use by using it to deliver their first Beach Volleyball Performance Camp for Junior players.

The camp included practical skill work as well as tactical sessions delivered by current National Team Players. They also held an Anti-Doping seminar to educate the players on this aspect of performance sport. The camp culminated with a tournament.

Rodrigo Pessoa has named the Irish Show Jumping squad for this month’s hugely important Longines FEI European Championships, which take place at Rotterdam in The Netherlands. Ireland will arrive at the Dutch venue as reigning European Champions, having taken the team gold medal in spectacular fashion at Gothenburg, Sweden in 2017.

Along with having team and individual medals on offer, the 2019 European Championships present the second-last opportunity for teams to qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Irish Show Jumping squad, sponsored by Devenish & The Underwriting Exchange, for the 2019 Longines FEI European Championships is as follows: (alphabetical order)

Rodrigo Pessoa (pictured) is hopeful that Ireland can achieve a positive result at the Championships and knows that it promises to be a hard-fought battle:

“We are aware of the importance of this event. This is what we have been waiting for now for a while. We have prolonged this by not qualifying [for the Olympic Games] last year so this is now our chance to do it. We are very respectful of the nations whom we are competing against and we will be very focused on obtaining our qualification and fighting for a team medal,” Pessoa said.

The 2018 World Equestrian Games saw USA, Sweden. Germany, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Australia take the six Olympic places on offer. That leaves several top teams including Britain, France, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Ireland set for a titanic battle at the Europeans, where just three more Olympic team places will be up for grabs. Following the Longines FEI European Championships in Rotterdam, one final Olympic team qualification place will be on offer at October’s FEI Nations Cup World Final in Barcelona.

The 2019 European Show Jumping Championships get underway on Wednesday August 21st with the opening speed competition. The first round of the team competition takes place on Thursday August 22nd before the team medals and Olympic qualification places are decided on Friday August 23rd. The European individual final takes place on Sunday August 25th.

Ireland will also send teams to compete in the European Championships for Dressage and Para Dressage which also take place in Rotterdam, starting on Monday August 19th, with the Irish squads set to be named in the coming days.

Further details on the 2019 Longines FEI European Championships for Jumping, Dressage and Para Dressage are available on the official website HERE

The homecoming for the Team Ireland athletes who competed in the EYOF takes place in Terminal 1 of Dublin Airport on Monday morning, 29 July, at 10am. The team that arrives in on flight TK1975 includes double gold medallist Rhasidat Adeleke, who dominated the sprints events on the track this week, as well as double bronze medallist Molly Mayne who stepped on the podium in the 100m and 200m Breaststroke event.

Please RSVP to heather@olympicsport.ie if you are planning on attending the event, specifically if you have an interview request.

Team Ireland were competing in the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku, a multi-sport event for athletes aged 13-18 that is run by the European Olympic Committees and takes place every two years. Thirty-two Irish athletes were competing across five sports in the event that ran from the 21 – 27 July.

Rhasidat Adeleke has been announced as the Team Ireland Flagbearer for the Closing Ceremony at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku. Adeleke won two gold medals at the multi-sport games that take place every two years and are run by the European Olympic Committees. The other two medals coming home to Ireland are courtesy of swimmer Molly Mayne, who won bronze in both the 100m and 200m Breaststroke events.

“I’m just so happy,” the Dubliner said on learning the news, “I’ve never been a flagbearer before, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like! So, walking out there with the flag flowing in the air – I’m going to be really proud.”

Speaking about the Adeleke’s selection as flagbearer, Chef de Mission Gavin Noble said,

“Naturally Rhasidat performed incredibly, she couldn’t have done any more, but too she is very popular amongst our team. So, with or without the medals we would all be more than proud for her to lead us home”

Reflecting on the EYOF, Noble added,

“Everyone learns in a week like this, athletes and staff alike. What’s important now, especially for our youths, is that these learnings are acted upon for their next time in Irish green. The more our younger athletes, coaches and staff are exposed to a higher level of competition at the correct time in their development, ultimately the better we should be aiming for in senior competition.”

Today was the last day of action for Team Ireland at the EYOF, with athletics being the only sport on the Irish schedule.

In a slightly changed line up, the Boy’s Medley Relay were competing in their Final today – yesterday they had qualified as the second fastest team, but in the final they had to settle for seventh in a time of 1.56.94. Cian Dunne opened it up with a strong 100m, passing the baton to Israel Olatunde (200m). Next up was Diarmuid O’Connor racing 300m and Robert McDonnell finished it out with a 400m dash.

“It was a tough race,” boys’ team captain, Olatunde, commented after the race. “I’m really proud of all these guys. And Charles as well who got injured in the heat. I’m really proud of how far we have come in such a short space of time. I felt we ran well in both the heat and the final, and I’m just really proud of the lads.”

In the Girl’s 1500m Ava O’Connor impressed finishing above her rankings in 7th with a tie of 4.34.98. The Tullamore Harriers runner showed grit and determination throughout the race, driving the pace in the final lap, only to be passed in the last 200m.

“I’m really happy with that one actually. Considering how low I was starting to finish seventh was a really good confidence boost for me. I know I missed out on medals but there’s plenty more to come. It was my first major championships too! I’m not even sixteen, I was probably one of the youngest in the field which made me really happy – I was able to beat some of the older girls. I’ll definitely be back for more next year!”

Fantastic racing from Ava O’ Connor in the Girl’s 1500m Final to finish 7th in 4.34.98, higher than her ranking going into the race. The determined @TullamoreH racer was quick out of the blocks and in the final lap moved to the front until the last 150#TeamIreland#EYOF2019pic.twitter.com/YQuYz1zOad

In the Boy’s 2000m Steeplechase John Fanning was left with too much to close in the second half of the race, after a stumble in the early stages put him on the back foot. He finished in 13th place on the line with a time of 6.43.58.

Speaking after the race the Skerries runner said, “I started off badly with a fall. The pace at the start surprised me, and it was quite packed in going into the first hurdle and I just didn’t get my approach right, and I hit it and fell on my shoulder and was on the back of the race for pretty much the whole thing.

“I just tried to close on as many people as I could, and I just nearly got them at the end. I’m happy with how I got up and finished, but also next time I think I’ll be more ready.”

Aoife O’Sullivan was competing in the High Jump, after qualifying for it earlier this week, clearing 1.75 on her first jump! It wasn’t her day, and O’Sullivan had to settle for an eventual 13th place with 1.66m,

“It was devastating. I really thought I could do much better. It’s my first year as well, so I’m happy I got here too – that makes me smile now.”

Team Ireland will be arriving in Dublin Airport at 10am on Monday morning into Terminal 1.

This was the final day of action in the EYOF, a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years, and Team Ireland was represented by thirty-two athletes across five sports. Baku hosted the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

Team Ireland’s Molly Mayne doubled her medal tally today when she won a bronze medal in the Girl’s 100m Breaststroke at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku. This was added to the bronze she won in the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke earlier this week. This brings the Irish medal tally to four with the medal ceremony for Rhasidat Adeleke’s 200m gold medal also taking place on this penultimate day of action at the EYOF.

Mayne qualified for the Final as the fourth fastest swimmer in the semi-finals, but was determined to step onto the podium, knowing where she would make her improvements. She immediately went into the third spot, and held that position until she tipped the wall, securing her second medal of the Games.

Swimming the 100m in a personal best time of 1.09.59, a delighted Mayne said, “it was really good. I wasn’t really expecting a 1.09, I was expecting a 1.10.0 or 1.09 (high). It was just amazing. I felt really fresh in the water I think, and I just felt so good. In warm up I felt a lot fresher because obviously I only raced one race today, whereas yesterday I had two. But I just felt way more powerful in my stroke and my stroke rates were high. I spent a little more time focusing on my stroke rate and keeping it high.”

Coming to Baku Mayne was focusing on executing her best race, medals were a bonus, “It feels amazing – I wasn’t expecting it at all!! I came here just wanting PBs just racing my best, and I came home with two medals – it feels so good.”

In the Boy’s Medley Relay Team, Team Ireland stormed home with a win in their heat and moving into the tomorrow’s final as the second fastest qualifier with a time of 1.56.69. The quartet of Israel Olatunde (100m), Charles Okafor (200m), Diarmuid O’Connor (300m) and Robert McDonnell (400m) took the lead early, with McDonnell crossing the line ahead of a fast closing Hungary in the closing metres.

“Before the race we decided to give our all and have fun, that’s what it’s all about,” Olatunde said after the race, “We all gave it our all, and we won the heat and are into the final.” A confident McDonnell raced the last leg said, “I saw Israel coming out of the blocks first, and I always knew we would come first.”

In the 3000m Michael Morgan set a new PB finishing with a time of 8.48.41. He started the race ranked ninth and moved up to finish hard and secure sixth place on the line. Speaking after the race the Sligo racer said, “At the start the pace was right in my comfort zone, where I like it to be. After 700m I decided to take a gamble and try and keep the pace going. I wanted to run a big PB if nothing else. It probably took a lot out of me, but I’m happy enough with the race. This is all a learning experience, I’ve so much more to give than that. When the Israeli guy went to the front, he probably ran a 65 second lap. My mind wanted to go with it, but my legs wouldn’t take me with it. I gave it everything anyway.”

Emily MacHugh finished 12th in the Girl’s 5km Race Walk, in a time of 26.26.05, “I trained very hard and I came out here and gave it my all. Unfortunately, today that wasn’t my best day, I gave it the best I could for the circumstances I was in and hopefully I’ll come back stronger next year.”

Athletics is the only sport featuring on tomorrow’s schedule, with John Fanning racing in the 2000m Steeplechase, Ava O’Connor in the 1500m and Aoife O’Sullivan jumps in the High Jump Finals, in which she qualified earlier this week clearing 1.75m.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years, and Team Ireland is represented by thirty-two athletes across five sports. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

Rhasidat Adeleke has won a gold medal in the Girl’s 200m at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku today in a time of 23.92. This is the second gold medal that the Tallaght Athletics Club sprinter is bringing home from the EYOF having gone faster than the 24.36 she posted in the qualifying round of the 200m, and beating Hungary’s Mira Koszegi into silver, Serena Kouassi (France) rounded off the podium with bronze.

Adeleke won a gold medal in the 100m earlier this week, and she went into the 200m as favourite. Speaking about winning a double gold she said, “I’m just so happy. It was kind of a late decision to do both events, I was only meant to do one event, so to come away with the two gold is so unexpected. I’m just so happy. I just tried to have a really good bend, really fast, and just hold it for the last 100m. And I kind of felt like I was clear, so I was delighted.

“The Irish support here is amazing, I could hear it so loud when they call your name at the start, and then you hear all the support. It just makes you want to do really well.”

In the cycling Boy’s Road Race Darren Rafferty rode an aggressive race to finish eighth after 75km on the 25km circuit. “It was a really quick race from the off,” he described, “It was really hectic with everyone trying to get off the front. The speed was really high coming out of the first climb. Everyone was racing for positions. I was trying to stay to the front to not lose spaces. I was happy enough with how I was riding up the climb, then back into the descent I was staying around the front, staying comfortable.

“Coming through the feed zones bottles were flying everywhere, all over the ground. But I managed to stick in to the third lap, break of six men up the road and I wasn’t able to catch onto them. GB just blocked the second group. As I hit the bottom of the climb on the second lap I just gave everything I had to try to break away from the main peloton. As I came over the top of the hill I had a bit of a gap, and I just gave everything for the last ten km to try and get a better position because I knew if it came to a sprint I wouldn’t have a chance.”

Adam Gilsenan and Mark McGarry finished in 61st and 82nd positions respectively on the tough course.

In the Girl’s Road Race earlier this morning the course was two laps of the same 25km circuit, and the bunch split up completely early on, Aoife O’Brien was the highest Irish finisher in 47th place today just ahead of Erin Creighton who was 48th. Caoimhe May finished in 72nd place. “After the hill the race split up a lot, and that meant everyone came in bits and pieces,” Mullingar’s O’Brien said after the race.

Swimmer Molly Mayne booked her place in the final of the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke with at time of 1.10.97, the fourth fastest time going into tomorrow’s show down. Disappointed to not get a personal best time, the Dubai based swimmer who won a bronze medal in the 100m Breaststroke last night, was upbeat saying, “It went okay, it was better than this morning. It still wasn’t a personal best, I am just happy I dropped off from this morning.”

Tomorrow will see Molly Mayne compete in the Finals of the 100m Breaststroke at 14:36 Irish time tomorrow. While the Russian who won the 200m event last night is going into the final as a clear favourite, Mayne has qualified with a time within 0.07 seconds of bronze.

On the track high jumper Aoife O’Sullivan opened her EYOF campaign, jumping the 1.75m qualifying height on her first jump – she will now compete in the Final on Saturday.

Tommy Connolly ran a great race in the Boy’s 800m to finish fifth in his heat with 1.57.25.

In the Girl’s 2000m Steeplechase Wexford’s Roisin O’Reilly was 11th with a time of 7.21.33.

Tomorrow is a quieter day for Team Ireland in Baku with Mayne in action in swimming, and the Boy’s Medley Relay in the evening. The long wait will be over for Race Walker Emily MacHugh who competes in the 5km race, and Michael Morgan tackles the 3000m Final.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years, and Team Ireland is represented by thirty-two athletes across five sports. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

Molly Mayne has won a bronze medal in the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku today. The Templeogue Swimming Club swimmer qualified for the final with the third fastest time and held that position throughout the 200m.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years, and Team Ireland is represented by thirty-two athletes across five sports. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

“It feels great – I’m so happy it’s all I wanted, so it’s the best,” an elated Mayne said after the race. The Dubai based swimmer hadn’t realised she won the bronze on the lane, “At first I thought I was fourth but then I looked again and saw that I got the bronze and I was just so happy!”

Racing a controlled race, Mayne executed the perfect plan, “I went out efficient and controlled trying to build into the wall a little bit. My coach said my turns were the quickest, so I tried to keep that, and I worked my pull outs on every turn. The second 50 I built it a bit, third 50 I pushed it and had a hard build, and the last 50 I just rang it back and gave it my all. On the third 50 I saw the girl next to me in lane two, I knew she was on my feet, so I just tried to get power out of every kick and gave it my all.”

Mayne will be in action again tomorrow morning, competing in the 100m Breaststroke.

Gymnasts Caoimhe Donohoe and Eve McKibbin also made their EYOF debut in Baku. The youngest members of Team Ireland, savouring the occasion. From Galway, Donohoe finished 63rd in the All Around – scoring particularly high in the beam with 11.80, ranked 28th. Eve McGibbon competed in the Floor Routine only, where she finished 75th.

This year’s event for the gymnasts was all about gaining experience, and both of them relished the experience. “The floor went really well, considering yesterday in the podium it wasn’t the best,” Donohoe said after the competition. “I was able to land my double back which was a big thing for me. My beam went really well, I was happy with the beam.”

Back on the track Sean Donoghue finished 6th in the Boy’s 1500m, knocking thres seconds off his personal best time, crossing the line in 3.58.15. Delighted with his result Donoghue said, “It was fairly quick from the start, the lads were going at a quick pace, I tried to hang on for as long as I could and that was my plan – to hang on and try to get a PB.”

In athletics Aimee Hayde finished sixth in the 800m Final. The Tipperary runner qualified earlier this week, finishing second in her heat, and had her eyes on a higher place.

“I am really disappointed, I’m a bit raw now, but tomorrow I’ll realise that I actually came sixth in Europe,” Hayde said after the race in which she started strong, “It was going well for the first 400 and then I got boxed in and I wasn’t mentally prepared for that and I know it’s something I can work on, and hopefully next year.

“I’m only under 17, so I’ll have the under 18s next year, and hopefully I will do well there. It was a great experience – getting thrown against those girls, Sophia Volkmer (Germany) the girl who won it, she’s number one in Europe – it was an honour to race her.”

Tomorrow will see Molly Mayne compete in the 100m Breaststroke in the morning, followed by track action with Rhasidat Adeleke, Aoife O’Sullivan, Tommy Connolly and Roisin O’Reilly. The cyclists will tackle the Road Races also.

Following her sensational gold medal last night in the 100m, Rhasidat Adeleke was in action again this morning at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku. The Dubliner dominated her heat in the Girl’s 200m to win with a time of 24.36, booking her place in tomorrow’s final with the joint second fastest time.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years, and Team Ireland is represented by thirty-two athletes across five sports. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

Tofiq Bahranov Stadium was busy on the third day of Irish action for Irish athletes, with mixed fortunes across the team. In the Boy’s 200m Charles Okafor, competing in his first major games, finished sixth in his heat with a time of 22.85.

“It was a good race, it wasn’t my best race, but it is what it is,” the motivated Westmeath athlete said after the race. “You’re running against talented people top athletes from other countries, it’s a very good experience. I’m happy to represent Ireland, to represent my own country, it’s such an honour. It’s my first season to represent Ireland I am just so grateful for that.”

In the second heat of the Boy’s 400m Hurdles, Cian Dunne was disappointed with his fifth place finish in 59.25 saying, “I missed pretty much every hurdle, I had no energy, it just went wrong. It’s been a great experience, and great to get a chance like this and take everything on board that I’ve learnt.”

Hammer Thrower Sean Maher had to settle for 13th in his event, with 56.48, outside his personal best. “I’m severely disappointed and I knew I could perform a lot better than 56m – that’s 12m off what I know what I can throw. But when you’re here you need to compete with the big boys – you need to get a throw in in the first three or you’re not going anywhere.

“I take so much with me, simple things that you can take to the next step and it really helps you bring up your game. I definitely want to come back – the World U20s in Kenya next year, that’s where I know I’m going to show out.”

In the pool, swimmer Ellie McKibbin raced a personal best time in the Girl’s 200m Freestyle to finish eighth in her heat. Her time of 2.07.81 was not enough to advance to the next round. There will be more action in the pool later today, though, when McKibbin’s teammate Molly Mayne competes in the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke, an event in which she has qualified as the third fastest qualifier.

In athletics Aimee Hayde competes in the final of the Girl’s 800m, after qualifying straight from her heat earlier this week, and Sean Donoghue makes his EYOF debut in the 1500m later today.

Gymnasts Caoimhe Donohoe and Eve McGibbon make their debut also at the EYOF this afternoon. Galway’s Renmore Gymnastics Club gymnast Donohoe will take on the All-Around, while Salto Lisburn Gymnastic Club’s McGibbon competes on the Floor. Both start in Subdivision ¾.

Rhasidat Adeleke stormed home in first place in the Girl’s 100m at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku today. Winning her first gold medal, the Dubliner crossed the line comfortably in a time of 11.70 ahead of Johanna Klymanen (Finland) and Cheyenne Kuhn (Germany).

Adeleke won a silver medal in the last edition of the EYOF in 2017, competing in the 200m, as well as bronze in the Girl’s 4 x 100m. She competes in the Girl’s 200m on Thursday.

Speaking after her race an ecstatic Adeleke said, “I just felt like I got a decent enough start. I tried to execute my race doing what my coach told me to – just drive, drive, drive. And hopefully by 60m I would try to pull away, and I think what I did. This is what I’ve been praying for all season, and to get the gold – I’m so happy. I’m ecstatic.”

Swimmer Molly Mayne has qualified for the final of the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke with a personal best time of 2.30.06. She qualified for the final which takes place tomorrow evening with the third fastest time.

On the track in Tofiq Bahranov Stadium, Israel Olatunde finished seventh in the Boy’s 100m, and in the Decathlon Diarmuid O’Connor scored multiple PBs throughout the five events today – winning the opening 110m Hurdles and the final 1500m. This put him in a final position of sixth in the Decathlon with a total of 6762.

“To get the first in the 15, I was happy – it was a reasonable time for me as well, so in these conditions, I’m over the moon, on a high. It was a brilliant day – it makes up for yesterday anyway. I’m happy with my performance – there are guys here who are world class, so even to compete with them, it’s amazing. I’ve learnt so much – hopefully way more to come and a lot of improvements.”

Ciara Sheehy was forced to settle for 10th in the Shot Put Final with a distance of 15.10, not quite throwing the personal best 16.0m she threw in yesterday’s qualifying rounds. Conor Cusack finished 11th with a throw of 61.03.

Mark McGarry was the top finisher in the Boy’s Time Trial at the Velo Park, finishing the 10km course in a time of 14.12.62 in 31st place. Finishing just behind in 32nd was Adam Gilsenan with 14.15.69 in 32nd. Darren Rafferty completed the race against the clock in a time of 14.32.85.

All cyclists will be in action again on Thursday, when they compete in the Road Races. The Girl’s Road Race is 50km long – two laps of a 25km circuit. Using the same circuit the Boy’s race is three laps – 75km.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

On a windy morning in Baku, Team Ireland athletes were competing in athletics, cycling and swimming at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF). The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

In athletics Diarmuid O’Connor was the first in action competing in the decathlon, starting the day lying in sixth position and winning the hurdles, his strongest event. Swimmer Molly Mayne booked her place in this evening’s semi-final of the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke, and Caoimhe May was the top finisher in Girl’s 10m Time Trial. Robert McDonnell was competing in the Boy’s 400m, where he ran a personal best time in the heats.

In this evening’s session all eyes will be on Rhasidat Adeleke in the Girl’s 100m Final at 17:35 Irish time. Also competing in finals on the track are Israel Olatunde in the Boy’s 100m and Ciara Sheehy in the Girl’s Shotput, as well as Conor Cusack in the Javelin.

The semi-finals of the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke at 14:52 will see swimmer Mayne in action once more, and at the Velo Park cyclists Adam Gilsenan, Darren Rafferty and Mark McGarry tackle the Boy’s Time Trial.

DETAILED BREAKDOWN BY SPORT BELOW

SWIMMING

Swimmer Molly Mayne qualified for the semi-finals of the Girl’s 200m Breaststroke at the EYOF with a time of 2.32.67 – the sixth fastest time of the day. The time was just outside her personal best, but the Templeogue Swimming Club racer performed well.

“It was okay, not a season’s best, but I felt I swam it well and felt I did my best,” Mayne commented after her race. “On the first 50 I tried to take it out fast but not too fast keeping my stroke efficient. Then I tried to work on my pull out on the second 50 and just a slight build. Then on the third 50 I tried to put a stronger build and get my rate up, and then on the last one I tried to get my rate up as fast as I could.”

The Dubai based swimmer with Galway heritage will be back in action again at 14:52 Irish time.

CYCLING

Orwell Wheelers cyclist Caoimhe May was the top finisher for Team Ireland in the Girl’s Time Trial at the Velo Park in Baku today. In tricky, windy conditions the Dublin rider finished the 10km course in a time of 17.01.66, 2.25.41 behind race winner Zoe Backstedt from GB.

Erin Creighton finished 30 seconds further back in 51st with 17.31.06, and Flagbearer at the Opening Ceremony Aoife O’Brien was 59th in a time of 17.53.82.

Speaking after the race, May described a hard day on the bike, where she left everything on the road, “It was more or less a headwind to the first corner, I tried to get across to the other side to get some wind block from the barrier in the middle and the wind wouldn’t let me. I was leaning into the side and trying to turn my wheel and there was no hope of me getting across!

“It was a bit of a tailwind up the first part of the hill, but coming towards the top was absolutely awful! I hit a max heartrate and had a headwind right up to the top. I couldn’t have gone any harder. It was hard work all the way.”

In the Time Trial riders race individually against the clock at one minute intervals. May caught her ‘Minute Person’ coming towards the finish, “About halfway down the hill when it started going into the wind towards the finish I caught the girl who started a minute ahead of me so I was happy enough with that. You start to feel fairly confident then, it gives you more of a push when you know you are closing in on someone – it’s good.”

Erin Creighton

Aoife O’Brien

ATHLETICS

At the Tofiq Bahranov Stadium Robert McDonnell buried himself in the Boy’s 400m to finish with a massive personal best of 48.42, just outside qualifying standard.

Diarmuid O’Connor was also in action competing in the Boy’s Decathlon, where he now lies in 7th position going into the eighth event with 5187 points. The Bandon all rounder had a phenomenal evening last night when he smashed his PB in the high jump, today he went one better winning the 110m hurdles. Norway’s Sander Skotheim now leads with a total of 5681 points, with the pole vault, javelin and the final 1500m race left in the competition.

It is a busy day for Team Ireland on Tuesday 23 July at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku, with athletes competing in Athletics, Cycling and Swimming.

The EYOF is a multi-sport event for athletes aged 13-18 and takes place every two years. It is run by the European Olympic Committees, and this year’s event is hosted by Baku, with many of the events taking place in the same venues that were used in the inaugural European Games in 2015.

Team Ireland had a packed day on the first day of Irish competition at the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) in Baku. In the first final event on the programme for Ireland, Race Walker Oisin Lane finished just outside the podium with a fourth place in the 10km Race Walk.

Today was the second day of competition at the multi-sport event for youth athletes, with athletes in action across athletics, swimming and tennis. The gymnasts also participated in their podium event.

It was a great start for the athletics team, with athletes scoring personal bests and progressing to the next rounds in their events. In the Girl’s 100m Rhasidat Adeleke kicked off her second EYOF in style by crossing the line first with a time of 11.87.

The EYOF is a European event for athletes aged 14-18 that runs every two years. Baku is hosting the 2019 edition which runs from the 21 – 27 July.

FULL BREAKDOWN BY SPORT BELOW

ATHLETICS

At the Tofiq Bahranov Stadium, the athletics team enjoyed a successful morning with one final to be decided – the Boy’s 10km Race Walk, where Oisin Lane finished just outside the medals in fourth place.

The Westmeath man started strongly leading the field around the first lap, by the 6km mark Lane found himself in the silver medal position just behind the dominant Italian Gabriele Gamba.

“I was surprised with how it went; I knew I was in with a shot going into it, but I didn’t really know what to expect,” Lane said after the race. “6km in and I was in second place, but I had over extended, I worked too hard, I think. I got a third red card and went into the pit lane for a full minute and went back to fourth, when I came back, I was too tired to catch your man.”

Rhasidat Adeleke didn’t disappoint in the Girl’s 100m Heats, finishing first in her heat. Her race was not without controversy, though, with her morning heat being re-run in the evening, due to a recall for a false start.

Undeterred Adeleke delivered another top performance in the evening, qualifying for the final with a time of 11.87, just 0.04 seconds behind Belgian Mariam Oulare.

Speaking after the race she said, “Obviously it was a surprise that I’d be running again, but I just tried to execute race without putting on too much effort so that I’m fresh enough for the final tomorrow. I feel like I cruised a bit too much at the end because I could feel someone under me, but I’m happy with the race overall.”

Bandon’s Diarmuid O’Connor had a mixed day in the decathlon and is now lying 6th with 3569 going into the second day. The clear highlight was the massive personal best he jumped in the high jump, his fourth event. Going into the competition O’Connor’s PB was 1.81m and on the day he cleared 1.94m!

Thrilled with his jump, O’Connor said, “without a doubt the high jump was the highlight, it was surreal. I think I had a poor long jump before it and my head was in a different place and I knew I had to come back. That high jump though, I don’t know how to describe it.”

Earlier in the day Ciara Sheehy threw a personal best in the shot put with her 16.0m qualifying her directly into the final. Aimee Hayde was competing in the 800m shortly after, finishing second with 2.14.16 booking her place in the final.

Israel Olatunde finished 3rd in a fast heat qualifying as the fastest non-automatic qualifier in the Boy’s 100m with 10.75 seconds. Caoimhe Cronin clocked a personal best outdoor time in the 400m with 57.30 seconds

SWIMMING

Ellie McKibbin finished tenth in her heat of the Girl’s 100m Freestyle with a time of 59.1 seconds. This was just outside her personal best time of 58.76 which she recorded in March at the Swim Ireland qualifying meet. The first five qualified through to the semi-finals, and McKibbin now switches focus to the 200m Freestyle later this week.

“This morning was a little bit tough in a new environment, I was quick off the blocks, a good start. Although when I hit the turn I didn’t hit it quite right so was a little slow on the second 50, but hopefully I learnt a few things that will help with the 200 on Wednesday.”

TENNIS

Team Ireland had two athletes competing in the singles events today. Sligo’s Cliona Walsh eased into her match, losing the first set to Ida Johannson from Sweden 6-3 before leading at one point in the second set, and eventually losing in a tie-break.

“It was a tough match, a tough one to lose, 6-3, 7-6,” Walsh said after the match. “I kept it close in the second set and I had my chances and I made her work for it. She was left handed which I don’t usually play against, so I had to adjust my serve. She had a good forehand, and I was just trying to keep away from that. got better as the match went on, which definitely showed on the score line. I got on top of a few of the rallies without her dictating it.”

In the Boy’s Singles, Waterford’s Arthur O’Sullivan started strong with an ace against GB’s Yujiro Onuma. His first set didn’t go his way, losing 6-3, but like Walsh O’Sullivan found his stride in the second set, but had to bow out to Onuma who took the second set 7-5.

Tomorrow will be another busy one for Team Ireland with athletes from swimming, cycling, gymnastics and athletics competing.

Cyclist Aoife O’Brien has been named as the flagbearer for Team Ireland in the Opening Ceremony of the Summer European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) which takes place in the Baku Crystal Hall on the 21 July. The EYOF is a multi-sport event aimed at athletes aged 14-18 years of age and runs from the 21 – 27 July in Baku.

The Olympic Federation of Ireland entered a team of 32 athletes across five sports for the fifteenth edition of the EYOF, which is held every two years. Fifteen year old O’Brien has been dominant in the Irish women’s senior ranks in recent weeks and the announcement was made in front of her teammates that she has been chosen to lead Team Ireland in the Athlete’s Parade tomorrow.

FLAGBEARER ANNOUNCEMENT

We are delighted to announce that the flagbearer for #TeamIreland has been selected

“It’s such an honour to be selected out of all the people that are here,” a surprised O’Brien said on hearing the news, “it just makes the experience all the more enjoyable, and all my family are coming to watch, it will be great.”

Olympic Federation of Ireland Chef de Mission for the EYOF, Gavin Noble said, “I’m delighted to announce Aoife as the flagbearer. Not only is she a very competent athlete competing well against the senior riders nationally, but she is a popular choice amongst her teammates. This is the first time a cyclist has been selected to be flagbearer and we are looking forward to the athlete’s parade tomorrow night.”

There has been just one change to the Team Ireland line up for the EYOF from the original announcement – with the withdrawal of Galway gymnast Bláthnaid Higgins.

Performance Director for Gymnastics Ireland, Sally Johnson said, “Sadly, Bláthnaid has had to withdraw and will now begin her preparation and training for the senior age and prepare for the 2020 Programme. Bláthnaid is a strong determined and focused gymnast and I wish her every success in her training, and I really look forward to her competing next year as a senior gymnast.”

Competition begins on Monday for Team Ireland with athletes competing in five sports over the next seven days; Athletics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Swimming and Tennis.

What to expect

The tennis tournaments at the European Youth Olympic Festival (EYOF) take place in the Baku Tennis Academy – which was built in 2009. It has hosted Baku Cup WTA tournaments, Men’s and Women’s Pro Circuits and Baku 2017 ISG. There are 12 courts at the Baku Tennis Academy, a central court, six outdoor and five indoor.

Competition at the EYOF are knock out rounds, with Team Ireland being represented by Arthur O’Sullivan in the men’s singles and Cliona Walsh in the women’s singles. Each event has three rounds, quarter finals, semi-finals and finals.

What to expect

Two Team Ireland swimmers will be competing at the European Youth Olympic Festival in Baku – Ellie Mc Kibbon from Ards Amateur Swim Club in Northern Ireland and Molly Marne who competes for Templeogue Swim Club will be in action throughout the week.

In the swimming the athletes compete in the heats of each event, with the top placed swimmers qualifying through to semi-finals and finals.

Both Ellie and Molly achieved their qualifying time for the EYOF following strong performances at the Irish Championships last March and are looking forward to competing in their first multi-sport event in Baku.

Swim Ireland’s ‘In-Touch’ Programme has played a role in introducing Ellie and Molly to the rest of the National Team – with them spending time training with some of the senior athletes who are competing at the World Championships this week.

What to expect

The gymnastics venue is the National Gymnastics Arena (MGA) which is a bit of a drive from the centre but is close to the Athletes Village.

Team Ireland is represented by two young, talented gymnasts, Caoimhe Donohoe and Eve McGibbon who will compete in the All Around event – which is a combined event comprised of the Balance Beam, a Floor Routine, Uneven Bars and a Vault.

Athletes are given scores based on the difficulty of their routine, and their execution of it, and they have the opportunity to get into finals – both of the overall All-Around finals, and of the individual finals of each event.

Originally Team Ireland also included Galway’s Blaithnead Higgins, who had to withdraw and will now begin her preparation and training for the senior age and prepare for the 2020 Programme.

What to expect

The cycling in the EYOF take place in the Velopark BMX cycling complex located on the Caspian seaside, a venue surrounded with beautiful scenery and plenty of cycling lanes!

The Individual Time Trials are timed events, and they take place near Shikhov beach, with the Girl’s event starting at 10am (local time) or 7am Irish time on the 23 July, and the Boy’s event starts at 5pm local time, or 2pm Irish time. Both races are 10km long – on one looped circuit. The start and finish is in the Velopark, and the race profile is relatively flat, with a slight 1.7km hill about 1.5km from the finish.

The Road Races are bunch events which take place on the 25th July. The Girl’s event at 10am local time (7am Irish time) is a 50km race, two laps of a 25km circuit. The Boy’s event starts at 5pm local time (2pm Irish time) and is a 75km race, three laps of the 25km circuit.

The circuit itself starts and finishes in the Velopark, and includes a short and sharp tough hilly section in the city centre. It also includes the same 1.7km drag that the cyclists will have raced on in the Time Trial earlier in the week.

At the last edition of the EYOF Team Ireland enjoyed success in the Girl’s Time Trial, with Lara Gillespie winning a silver medal.

ABOUT ATHLETICS IN BAKU

The athletics venue in Baku is the Tofiq Bahramov Stagium (TBS) which was built in 1951 and has a capacity of 29,800. It was extensively renovated and reopened in 2012 and a stone’s throw from the heart of the city.

At the EYOF there will be competitions in 40 different athletics events, and Team Ireland are expected to be competitive across them – with the Irish qualifying standard for Baku set high.

The athletics team is on the most part a young and vibrant group with the primary aim of learning, developing and gaining multi-sport experience. Most of them have competed on an international stage, but for most this will be the biggest competition to date.

At the last EYOF in Gyor 2017 Ciara Sheehy and Rhasidat Adeleke competed, with Rhasidat coming home with a silver medal in the 200m and a bronze in the team 4 x 100m Relay.

Team Ireland in Gyor enjoyed good success with the Athletics team coming home with medals in five events – Sarah Healy won gold in the Girl’s 1500m, Rhasidat Adeleke won Silver in the Girl’s 200m, Patience Jumbo-Gula won bronze in the Girl’s 100m, Jade Williams won bronze in the Girl’s Hammer Throw, and the Girl’s 4 x 100m Relay Team of Rhasidat, Patience, Niamh Foley and Miriam Daly won bronze.